“Maybe he needs to stay here,” Matt said, getting up.
“If you want one of you to get killed if it goes bad, leave him,” Michelle said, turning to Matt. “He can raise his rifle and fire, killing three targets within a hundred yards, in under two seconds. He always goes for the leader and the two strongest threats, so adjust accordingly.”
Hearing Nelson blowing the horn outside, Gerald grabbed his vest. “Bouncing bunny comes with us,” he said. “Call and tell Hank we are coming over.”
Grabbing his M14, Bernard followed Gerald out the back door as Matt kissed Ashley and the kids. Pulling his vest off the wall, music started blaring outside. “Glad I like that song,” Matt said, pulling his vest on.
“That’s country. When he starts listening to heavy metal, he gets ‘frisky,’” Michelle laughed.
Matt walked outside to see Nelson parked at the back deck. A large American flag was hanging off the CB antenna. “Get your big ass in here!” Nelson shouted over the music. Seeing Bernard up front and Gerald in the back on the passenger side, Matt climbed in behind Nelson.
When his door shut, Nelson stomped the pedal. “We have so much shit to do, this better not take long!” he shouted over the music.
“Can you turn the music down just a little bit!” Bernard shouted.
“This is Hank Williams Jr. Don’t you like Bocephus?”
“Yes, but not this loud!” Bernard said, grabbing the dash as Nelson shot out the gate doing fifty. Nelson yanked the wheel, shooting up dirt as the truck sped down the road.
Reaching back, Gerald grabbed his seatbelt and put it on, seeing the overturned truck and trailer approaching much too fast. “This should be interesting,” he mumbled as Nelson yanked the wheel, hitting the ditch and speeding through the gap barely wider than the truck at sixty.
“Nelson, will you slow down? We aren’t in that big of a hurry!” Bernard shouted, pulling his seat belt on.
“You complain just like Michelle!” Nelson shouted as the truck leapt in the air, and he steered back on the road. “You’re going too fast. This music is giving me a headache. I need to pee. Come on, it’s just the guys.”
“I think I already peed, so I didn’t need to say that one,” Bernard shouted, grabbing the dash as Nelson weaved through the Y heading to Hank’s.
Seeing Hank’s house in the distance, Gerald was impressed with the work they had done. A barbwire fence surrounded the house a hundred yards out. The tree line behind and on the north side had been cut of all big trees fifty yards back.
Nelson took his foot off the accelerator and stomped the brake. Bernard said a thankful prayer for anti-lock brakes as the truck stopped at a makeshift gate at the barbwire fence. Hank and his boys were at the gate and opening it when Nelson jumped out, killing the engine and grabbing his AR off the dash.
“Damn it, Nelson, let me talk first,” Bernard shouted, fighting his seatbelt.
“What’s the hurry?” Hank asked with a smile. He and his boys had the ARs they had given them over their shoulders. Nelson scanned the three, seeing the 1911s they had given them on their hips and more people running from the house to the gate.
“I take it you’re Hank?” Nelson asked, slinging his AR across his chest, letting it hang down.
“Yes, and since you’re not the size of a mountain, I take it you’re Nelson,” Hank said, reaching his hand out.
Taking Hank’s hand and shaking it, Nelson said, “That would be me. ” He let the hand go as the group of people reached the gate, all of them smiling. This was more people than he knew about. He saw two middle-aged men. The two men were holding a hand of a woman about the same age, and there were six kids that Nelson couldn’t account for. He saw one woman with her arms over two kids’ shoulders, and from the description Gerald gave him, Nelson knew they were Steven’s wife and kids.
“I want to say thank you for the weapons.” Hank smiled, tapping the AR on his shoulder.
“Hank!” Bernard shouted when he jumped out. “Nelson, I’m talking. Step back!”
Nelson nodded and stepped back, and the smile fell off Hank’s face. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“Your brother almost got us killed,” Nelson growled.
Hank pointed at the fence and gate. “That’s what we have been getting ready for. When they show up, we’re going to tell them leave or die, but we ain’t going.”
“Valiant. Stupid, but valiant,” Nelson said, making Hank startle. “You don’t fight from your house. You attack before they get here so you have room to move. They can seal you up and destroy your house around you; I’m sure Gerald went over that.”
Getting angry, Hank shouted, “This is my land, and I’m going to fight for it.”
“Nelson, will you shut up?” Bernard snapped. “Let me talk,” Bernard sighed as Matt and Gerald got out of the truck. Watching the group, Nelson gave a slight nod and was going to move off but found Matt and Gerald blocking him from moving.
“Why’s he so mad?” Hank shouted at Bernard.
“Because your fucking brother sold us out!” Bernard bellowed, making Hank and his entire group lean back. “You couldn’t have stopped the ones that were coming with this crap!” Bernard shouted, waving at the fence. “They have military weapons and rockets! They would just sit back and blow your fucking house up!”
“I dealt with Steven!” Hank shouted with his face turning red.
“Excuse me, Bernard,” Nelson said calmly as he stepped up, and Gerald and Matt did the same, staying at his side. “Did you talk to an Agent Palmer?”
“Yeah, I have a card he gave me,” Hank snapped.
Grinning, Nelson reached in his vest, pulling out the plastic bag with Palmer’s severed hand, which now looked grotesque. “You can have his hand to go with that card if you like,” Nelson said, tossing the bag over. By reflex, Hank caught it but dropped it, stuttering. “He said he was coming to kill our families. I had a long talk explaining the errors of his ways. When I was done, Bernard ran him through the wood chipper.”
As one, Hank’s group’s jaws dropped as they looked at Bernard. “Those fuckers raped Williams’ wife, daughter, and granddaughter in front of him!” Bernard bellowed, stepping up in Hank’s face. “They have pictures of it on their cellphones back at the barn. You want to see?”
Hank shook his head. “Bernard, we had nothing to do with that.”
“I’m not fucking stupid! I know that, but that’s what your brother was willing to turn loose on us!”
“I took care of him,” Hank said, narrowing his eyes.
“Is he breathing?” Bernard asked, stepping up and looking down at Hank.
“Yes, he’s sleeping in the barn now.”
“Not good enough,” Bernard said, stepping back with a calm face.
Nelson grabbed Bernard and pulled him back another step. “Hold for a second,” Nelson said, stepping in front of Bernard. Matt grabbed Bernard and moved him out of the way as he and Gerald moved to either side of Nelson.
Taking off his sunglasses, Nelson stuck them on his neck, looking at the four middle-aged men and women. “You four are staring at me and Matt awful hard. May I ask why?”
One of the women leaned up to the ear of the man whose hand she was holding. “It’s them. I know it,” she said with a smile.
“I sure hope you mean that in a good way,” Nelson said, suddenly stepping away from Matt and Gerald. He moved off to the side, staring at the four.
The man the woman spoke to stepped up beside Hank. “You and that big man rescued us yesterday,” he said with a smile. “I’m in your debt.”
“Kevin, when did you get here?” Bernard asked, realizing other people were around. “Josh,” he said, looking at the other man. “What are you doing here?”
“They rescued us yesterday, and we took their advice. We headed to someone we knew on a farm.” Josh smiled, reaching out to shake Bernard’s hand.
Bernard shook his hand. “Glad you made it.”
“Nels
on, why are you staring at me like you’re ready to fight?” Hank asked.
“Because I am,” Nelson said in a monotone. “If you want your brother turning your family over to be raped and killed, that’s on you. But I have kids and friends, so it’s not alright with me. I can show you pictures of what those government agents do to boys like yours if you want. I got to see it firsthand.”
“Nelson,” Steven’s wife said, walking quickly up to the fence. “Hank isn’t protecting him. Steven told Palmer, turning in his own son and daughter. He told those agents that Vance and Emily were learning how to shoot guns over his objections.”
“You would stand up for a man that turned in his own kids?” Nelson asked, flabbergasted.
“I’m not standing up for him!” Hank shouted. “I threw him out of the house.”
“Oh, so let me get this straight,” Nelson said with a hard voice. “He turned us in, marked my wife and kids to be raped, and I’m supposed to be satisfied with you ‘threw him out?’”
Dropping his shoulders, Hank looked down. “What else was I supposed to do? If I let him leave, he will just lead them here.”
Nelson looked over at Steven’s kids. “Vance, right?” he asked, and the boy nodded. “You want to be tied up and raped with your mother and sister tied up beside you being raped? I notice none of you have spoken up in Steven’s defense, so I think you know he’s a very big threat to your life.”
“No, sir. I don’t want that to happen to my momma and sister,” Vance said, stepping over and pulling Hank’s arm. “Shoot him, Uncle Hank. I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Hank looked up at Bernard. “He’s my little brother,” he said with watery eyes.
“So I have your decision,” Bernard said, turning around. “Get in the truck.”
“Wait,” Hank said as they moved to get in the truck. “I can’t, but could you?”
Stopping beside the truck, Bernard thought about the request. “Can’t someone here do it?” Nelson asked. “If this was one of our group, we’d do it.”
“Nelson, put a sock in it,” Gerald said, stepping over to Hank. “I warned you about Steven when I came over here to help you. We mean you no harm and want you and yours to survive this coming war. We could do it without you, but it would be much easier with your group. With both groups, we stand a good chance out here. I want you to look at this from our side. We want to help you, and we’ve proven that, but you have a traitor of blood and country here. Is he really worth all those that are depending on you?”
Closing his eyes, Hank nodded. “I understand. You didn’t ask for anything; you just wanted to help. I’ll do it.”
Hank turned around and walked off toward the barn. “I’ll come with you,” Gerald said, jogging over beside him and walking with Hank.
Bernard looked at Hank’s wife. “Judy, I’m sorry, but we can’t risk Steven being around.”
“Bernard, I tried to shoot the son of a bitch after the agents left, but Hank took that pistol Gerald brought over here for me away. Hell, even Wilma grabbed a knife and tried to stab him,” Judy said with no remorse.
Wilma turned, looking at Judy. “Judy, I’m really sorry I cut Hank, but he got in the way. Please tell me what I can do so you won’t be mad at me.”
“Served his ass right for getting in the way,” Judy snapped. “I ain’t mad at ya. You were protecting your babies with your very life. That’s what a momma does. I used to not like you, but after that, I’m proud to call you sister.”
Wilma lunged at Judy, wrapping her arms around her, squeezing her tight. Judy smiled, hugging her back as Josh walked over to Nelson. “Nelson, there were two little boys you made stay as we left. Adam and Alex. We went back for them but couldn’t find them. You know what happened to them?”
“They are at the house,” Bernard said, turning around.
Josh gave a sigh of relief. “Shit I’m glad. Me and Kevin were in the worship hall when some cop cars pulled in. We watched Nelson and someone else shoot the crap out of them. Kevin grabbed my arm, saying the guys that rescued us were doing what they said, holding off the cops so we could escape, and we needed to worry about our families.”
“I appreciate you going to look,” Bernard said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Nelson reached in the truck and pulled out a small notebook and pen. Closing the door, he walked up to Josh and pulled the back of his shirt down. Letting it go, Nelson flipped the notebook open and started writing.
“You putting a ‘kick me’ sign on my back?” Josh asked, smiling.
“No,” Nelson said, looking at Josh’s pants. “You wear a thirty-four, thirty-six in pants?”
“Yeah, why?”
Nelson continued writing. “Size ten shoe?”
“Nine and a half unless it’s cowboy boots, then a ten,” Josh answered, figuring Nelson would explain later.
“Right handed shooter, correct?”
Josh nodded, but Nelson didn’t look up. “Yeah.”
Not saying anything else, Nelson walked off and started asking others the same questions. Josh turned to Bernard with a confused look. “He’s going to help you out so you can protect your family,” Bernard said and smiled.
Sighing with relief, Josh gave a thankful smile. “I never dreamed I would be asking Mr. Hank to put me and my family up.”
“All these years you and Kevin come out helping out on the farm is going to pay off nice for everyone.”
“Josh, we didn’t see you come down the road. How did you get here?”
“Crossed Frank’s farm into the forest and went cross country to stay off any roads.”
Bernard thought about that. “You think others could find that way?”
“Not unless they knew where this house was,” Josh said. “Besides, for some reason, the creek is really high, and it’s a pain to cross.”
“Yeah, Nelson did that to the creek. He wanted a moat for people to cross so we could shoot them,” Bernard laughed as Nelson stopped in front of Hank’s boys.
“Tim and Mark, right?” Nelson asked, flipping to a new page.
“Yes sir,” they said as Nelson looked them up and down. “I take it you’re teaching Vance and Emily to shoot?”
“We were helping Dad teach them,” Mark said.
Nelson looked at Vance and Emily standing behind Mark. “They’re not like what Gerald described.”
“They changed, Mr. Nelson. After Gerald came over and talked to us, Aunt Wilma, Vance, and Emily started helping out a lot. They don’t know much, but they try really hard, and we show them how to do stuff,” Tim said.
Nodding, Nelson looked down as he wrote. “Teaching someone to live and fight for family is the greatest responsibility you can have. You two take your time, and do it right. Those two really look up to you.”
“Yes sir, we will,” Mark said as a grin spread over his face.
“You boys are still growing, so some things will be big,” Nelson said, glancing up as he wrote. “Tim, you’re left handed?”
“Yes sir.”
Lowering his notebook, Nelson looked from one to the other. “If I give you stuff, you treat it with respect and use it correctly because there won’t be any more made. You’re both fighters; I can see it,” he said, looking each in the eyes. “I’ll come over some days and help Gerald teach you how to fight, but I want a promise. You fight for your group and family if it comes to it, and that means killing. If you’re attacked, we will come and help, but we expect the same. Cowards die alone. The weak die under a bully. The righteous, strong warriors fight for their family and friends knowing their family and friends will do the same for them.”
“We’ll fight,” Tim said, puffing out his chest. “You don’t have to give us anything else. You already gave us weapons.”
“No,” Nelson said, shaking his head. Tim deflated his chest. “I gave you tools only. You are the weapon. No matter what, you remember that. You use tools to work because you’re the machine. Killing is work, and you are the weapon.
Living is work, and you use tools to do it, understand?”
Tim’s eyes lit up as the meaning of what Nelson was talking about hit him. “Whoa.”
“You get it.” Nelson smiled and turned to Mark, seeing him spellbound. “So do you.”
Stepping around Mark, Nelson stopped in front of Vance and Emily. As he stared at them, they looked up at him with a little fear. “You have nothing to fear from me,” Nelson said. He raised his notebook and started writing as Wilma stepped behind the kids.
“I understood what you told Tim and Mark,” Vance said.
“I know,” Nelson said, glancing up at the three. “You all understand now. Your family and friends see you different now that they know you won’t sell family and friends out. That includes me and my group.”
“We still have to prove ourselves,” Wilma said.
“You have to them, but you have to prove it to yourselves,” Nelson said as he started writing. “You now know what it’s going to take to survive this: hard work and trust in others.”
“We are working hard,” Emily said in a soft voice.
Nelson glanced at her as he wrote. “Yes I can tell,” he said. “Your hands have blisters, you have small scrapes on your arms, and you’re carrying yourself with pride, knowing you are helping the group survive.”
“You really think we are going to have to fight?” Wilma asked with a slight tremble in her voice.
“Yep,” Nelson said as he wrote. “You have already fought, but you meant kill, didn’t you?”
Giving a sigh, Wilma mumbled, “Yes.”
“Say it then,” Nelson said. “If you’re afraid of the word, you’re afraid of the meaning and action. That could get you killed. Or worse, it could get others killed, and you live knowing they died for your mistake but still protecting you.”
“You really think we’ll have to kill out here?” Wilma asked as Nelson continued writing.
“We already have,” Nelson said, making Wilma cringe. “It wasn’t you, so let it go. You fought for your kids.” Wilma’s jaw fell open since Nelson never looked up to see her cringe. “Yes, you will have to kill, so expect it, and don’t feel bad about it. The only other option you have is be killed or live as a slave in torment. I chose to live so I can continue to protect my family and friends.”
Forgotten Forbidden America:: Patriots Reborn Page 14
